For the first time since 1950, shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League...
The Philadelphia Phillies pose after winning the baseball NL Championship Series against the San Diego Padres in Game 5 on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, in Philadelphia.Looking around Memorial Stadium before Game 1 of the 1983 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies star Gary Matthews saw a lot of Black talent.
But for the first time since 1950, shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, there project to be no U.S.-born Black players in this World Series.“That is eye opening,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there's not a single Black player.
Starting in 1954 when Willie Mays and the New York Giants played against Larry Doby and Cleveland, every single team to reach the World Series had at least one U.S.-born Black player until the 2005 Astros did not. By 2020, when the Dodgers beat Tampa Bay, Los Angeles star Mookie Betts was the only Black player in the World Series.
“It's the exclamation point,” said Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. The Phillies had no Black players on their opening roster this year for the first time since 1959. Roman Quinn, a Black backup outfielder, played 23 games before being released.